4.5 stars.

In Shadowed, the second installment in Karen E. Olson’s Nicole Jones Mystery Series, ex-hacker fugitive Nicole Jones is now living under the alias Susan McQueen. Her idyllic life on a remote island in Quebec comes to an abrupt end when she clicks on a malicious link and her computer is taken hostage by someone demanding a million bitcoins. The hacker turned artist must turn to an anonymous online collaborator, known as Tracker, to help her uncover the identity of the shadow. When Susan tries to purchase a new computer from a friend, he calls in a cybercrime expert to help her get rid of the malware. Spooked after discovering the expert works with the police, Susan once again goes on the run but can she outwit the people who are chasing her?

Sixteen years ago, Susan helped her lover steal millions of dollars from mobster Tony DeMarco. The pair fled to Paris where Susan shot the FBI agent assigned to her case. She returned to the states where she lived off the grid until her past caught up with her, forcing her to reinvent herself once again. Unable to resist visiting a chat room on the dark web, Susan finds herself in trouble after clicking on a link she thinks is from Tracker. Not knowing whom to trust, she attempts to learn who is behind the ransom demand on her own, but her hacking skills are still a little rusty so she has no choice but to ask Tracker for help.

In real life, Susan grows suspicious when a fellow painter continues turning up everywhere she goes and in an effort to evade him, she knows it is time for her disappear once again. In the midst of her frantic attempt to figure out where to go next, Susan continues trying to come up with the million dollar bitcoin ransom in order to protect her friends. A mysterious message about Tracker raises a few suspicions, but with no one else to turn to, she continues working with him. Susan finally escapes from Quebec, but will she be any safer once she arrives at her new destination?

Susan has good instincts so she immediately goes to ground once she believes that she is being followed. A little slow to research the person chasing her, she is stunned when she uncovers his identity. Unsure what connection he might have to the ransomware attack, Susan immediately begins altering her appearance and finds out of the way places to hide. Spotting him with someone that is eerily familiar to her, Susan finds help from a very unexpected source and she finally makes her escape while continuing to work with Tracker to uncover who is behind the ransom demand. With nothing but her two computers and her backpack containing a few changes of clothes and her emergency cash, Susan is poised to start over in a new place with a new identity when she gets the shock of her life once she returns to the US. Tension mounts after she is presented with a stunning opportunity to put her past truly behind her but will Susan accept the surprising offer?

Shadowed is a fast-paced and adrenaline-filled addition to the Nicole Jones Mystery Series. Karen E. Olson once again delivers a riveting mystery with an intriguing premise that is quite relevant in today’s world. Susan/Nicole is an intelligent capable heroine who is immensely appealing and easy to root for despite her criminal past. The storyline is quite fascinating and although some of the computer jargon might be a bit confusing to the casual computer user, the technical aspect is relatively easy to follow. Although most of the loose ends are completely wrapped up, a jaw-dropping revelation at the novel’s end will leave readers impatiently awaiting the next book in the series.

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Shadowed by Karen E. Olson is A Nicole Jones Mystery (I did not know it was part of a series when I requested the novel). Susan McQueen is not her real name, but it is the name she is using now. Susan lives on Ile-aux-Coudres (middle of St. Lawrence River) near Quebec, Canada. She is earning a living as an artist/painter. Susan is hiding because of her hacking (she committed a crime). She became a hacker (at the age of fourteen). Susan knows she should stay away from computers, but she cannot help herself. She goes online occasionally to check on her friends (she misses them). One night she notices that there is a “shadow” in the chat room watching her. Susan knows that her time in the idyllic cabin is over and she has to take off. Susan cannot risk getting caught. Susan is not quite sure who is after her. Is it the FBI or someone more sinister? Join Susan (who becomes Tina Adler who is really Nicole Jones) on her journey to safety in Shadowed.

Shadowed has some good parts and some bad parts. I have to admit that I do not understand all the hacking terminology, how they do it (why they do it), and the bitcoins. I liked the action and trying to figure out who is after Nicole (and who can she trust). The problem is we get every little detail on her life on the run (every excruciating detail). Susan’s paranoia began to drive me nuts after a while (it was over-the-top). I started speed reading through the sections I did not like to get to the adventure (at the end). I give Shadowed 3 out of 5 stars because I liked some parts of it and disliked others (like Susan/Nicole’s thinking, wondering, worrying that goes on for pages). The author needed to cut down some of the details (and paranoia sections) to make it a more entertaining and enjoyable to read novel. The beginning of the novel (the first 1/3) is fast paced, but then it slows down considerably. I do like the reveal at the end. There was one thing I found odd. Susan/Nicole is on the run and knows she cannot stay anywhere for long, so why did she unpack her suitcase at the hotel? Does that make sense to anyone? I would have packed light and kept everything with me (or rented a locker at a bus station). I will not be reading further novels in this series. It is just not my type of series.

I received a complimentary copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review. The comments and opinions expressed are strictly my own. I will always provide a forthright and unbiased evaluation. ( )

The plot of Shadowed was not quite so full of holes as Hidden, the first in Karen E. Olson’s series, however it seems a transitional novel, incomplete without what I presume will be the third and final novel in a trilogy featuring middle-aged hacker Nicole/Amelie/Helene/Susan/etc., the former Tina Adler, a fugitive hiding from both the FBI and an evil mob boss bent on revenge.

We find Susan, as she is now known, in Canada living on an island, natch. She supporting herself with her paintings, has a few friends, but is purposely holding back, knowing she may soon have to leave again. That happens sooner than she expects when someone hacks the hacker and with a retail RAT – a bit of code people can buy to remotely access other’s computer. It’s used to hijack and ransom computers, but in her case, it’s used to send a threat that her friends back on Block Island will be harmed if she does not pay a ransom, a ransom that requires her to hack and steal $1million.

Complicating matters, a friend’s new boyfriend is suspicious of her and he turns out to be a retired police detective. He is extraordinarily successful at tracking her – without her ever thinking that she might be carrying some tracking device on her person or her computer. It’s a blind spot that is unworthy of such a resourceful protagonist.

This second of the trilogy was disappointing. Sure, the plot was tighter in many ways, but the big reveal at the end was obvious about half-way through. Also, she totally would have figured out there was a tracking device and dealt with it. The behavior of the FBI and her ease in slipping away, well, that was just silly. However, dang it, now I want to read part three, because that is all book two did. It set us up for book three.

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